Fightful Boxing Newsletter (5/3): GGG vs. Vanes, Joshua vs. Wilder Negotiations, Bellew vs. Haye 2

Fightful Boxing Newsletter (5/3) Table Of Contents:

1. Gennady Golovkin vs. Vanes Martirosyan Preview (Page 1)
2. Latest On Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder Negotiations (Page 2)
3. Tony Bellew vs. David Haye 2 Preview (Page 3)
4. Fightful’s Top 17 Boxing Quadruple Champions (Pages 4-6)

Gennady Golovkin vs. Vanes Martirosyan Preview

Among the chaos and turmoil Canelo Alvarez‘s two failed drug tests for clenbuterol has caused to boxing and Gennady Golovkin, the unified middleweight champion will finally get his chance to fight on Cinco De Mayo.

Golovkin is currently scheduled to defend his WBA, WBC and IBO middleweight titles against former junior middleweight title challenger Vanes Martirosyan on HBO on May 5. Instead of the fight being on pay-per-view, the fight will simply be televised on HBO television, headlining a boxing card at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Even when ignoring the Alvarez situation causing a massive change for Golovkin’s May 5 plans, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of news that will have lasting effects in the middleweight division for the next year, the biggest of which involves the ongoing saga between Golovkin and his status as the IBF middleweight world champion.

The main issue regarding Golovkin and the IBF stems from the fact that promoter Lou DiBella wanted the IBF to address the situation between Golovkin and his mandatory challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Derevyanchenko has been the governing body’s mandatory challenger since defeating Tureano Johnson on a PBC on FS1 card last year but the IBF has yet to issue a formal order to have Golovkin face Derevyanchenko.

The general thought was that any mandatory challengers Golovkin has would have to wait their turn until he’s finished with Alvarez and whatever rematch or rematches those two may have. The problem was that with Alvarez’s suspension, Golovkin needed a new opponent for the date. A number of names were thrown around, from Jaime Munguia to Demetrius Andrade to Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan and ultimately Martirosyan, but there was never any indication Golovkin would fulfill his IBF mandatory, at least not for May 5. Once that started to becoming clear, the focus for DiBella and Derevyanchenko was for the IBF to enforce a mandatory challenge order for Golovkin.

The IBF complied with that at the very least and allowed Golovkin to keep his IBF title under certain conditions, first of which was that the IBF would not sanction the fight, meaning that only Golovkin’s WBA, WBC and IBO titles would be on the line. The IBF’s reasoning was that Martirosyan is a junior middleweight moving up in weight who has not fought in two years with that fight being a loss. It’s sound reasoning for a governing body put in a tight spot given Alvarez’s withdrawal from the fight. The other conditions are as follows:

• Golovkin vs. Martirosyan must take place on or before May 5, 2018.
• Golovkin must agree in writing before the fight that he will next fight the IBF middleweight mandatory within 90 days of the May 5 bout or by Friday, Aug. 3, 2018.
• Golovkin must agree in writing before the May 5 fight “to indemnify, hold harmless and otherwise reimburse the IBF for any legal fees or other expenses related to the granting of this exception, including, but not limited to, the cost attendant to any resultant litigation.”
• Golovkin must “comply with all of the conditions set forth in the granting of this exception” or formal sanction won’t be issued for the May 5 bout.

Part of the intrigue for this specific May 5 card is the complete overhaul of the promotion. Canelo vs. Golovkin 2 was originally supposed to take place at the T-Mobile Arena, but when the fight was scrapped, plans changed so that Golovkin would fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena against Jaime Munguia. Once Munguia was rejected as Golovkin’s opponent by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and the MGM did not think there would be enough time to properly market and advertise the fight. Afterwards, plans quickly moved to having the fight be at the StubHub Center. That part was not an issue, but it was finding an opponent.

For weeks many had tabbed O’Sullivan as Golovkin’s opponent and the fight was all but official. The main reason why that fight fell through is that when O’Sullivan accepted the fight, it was originally planned to be on pay-per-view and would get a big payday. However, in the days after initially agreeing to the fight, the card got moved from pay-per-view to television and with that change comes a smaller payout. Once O’Sullivan saw his purse decrease because of that fact, then he declined the fight, opening the door for Martirosyan.

According to Gennady Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler, ticket sales have progressed very well and does expect the fight to break the StubHub Center attendance record for a boxing match, which was set by Golovkin’s last fight in Carson against Marco Antonio Rubio in 2014. Judging by Loeffler’s response at a conference call held on April 30, I would expect the final attendance number to fall somewhere between 9,000-10,500.

Although Loeffler had said numerous times that Golovkin is solely focused on Martirosyan, it’s hard to imagine some part of Golovkin isn’t thinking about Alvarez in their eventual rematch, given the subtle jabs at Alvarez even after the fight against Martirosyan was announced.

Not many are realistically giving Martirosyan a chance to beat Golovkin. After all, Martirosyan hasn’t fought in almost exactly two years and his last fight was a loss to then-WBA junior middleweight world champion Erislandy Lara. A simple look at the betting odds tell the story of much of an underdog Martirosyan is. On Bovada, Golovkin is listed as a +3000 favorite while Martirosyan is a -1100 underdog.

Tale of the Tape:

Gennady Golovkin:

• Record: 37-0-1 (33 KO)
• Age: 36
• Height: 5’10.5″
• Reach: 70″
• Titles Won: WBA “super” middleweight world, IBF middleweight world, WBC middleweight world, interim WBC middleweight world, IBO middleweight world, WBA “regular” middleweight world, interim WBA middleweight world, WBO middleweight intercontinental titles
• Notable Opponents: Canelo Alvarez, Daniel Jacobs, David Lemieux, Kell Brook, Martin Murray

Vanes Martirosyan:

• Record: 36-3-1 (21 KO)
• Age: 32
• Height: 5’11.5″
• Reach: 70″
• Titles Won: WBO junior middleweight intercontinental, WBC Silver junior middleweight, NABF junior middleweight, WBO-NABO junior middleweight, WBA junior middleweight international titles
• Notable Opponents: Demetrius Andrade, Jermell Charlo, Ishe Smith, Erislandy Lara

Latest On Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder Negotiations

After Anthony Joshua defeated Joseph Parker to unify the WBA “Super,” WBO and IBF world heavyweight titles, it almost seemed like a foregone conclusion that Joshua would engage in a superfight against WBC champion Deontay Wilder to crown the first-ever unified five-belt world heavyweight champion (if the Ring Magazine title is included and the lineal title is not) later this year.

Though nothing was ever set in stone, the idea was to have the two face off sometime this fall either at Wembley Stadium in London or in the United States, either in New York or Las Vegas. Negotiations for the fight in the last several weeks have been rough to put it nicely. The main issue regarding the negotiations has been the purse amounts with numerous being thrown around and little progress being made.

It all started a couple of weeks ago when Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, sent an offer to Wilder and his team. The offer includes a guaranteed $12.5 million flat purse, but Wilder’s team was not happy with the offer, believing it to be too low for the WBC champion. Afterwards, Joshua said in an interview IFL TV that he would immediately accept a fight offer from Wilder if Joshua is guaranteed 50 million (though he did not specify if it was in U.S. dollars or in Euro which would be around $60.04 million).

Hearn then traveled to the United States during fight week for Daniel Jacobs’ WBA middleweight title eliminator fight against Maciej Sulecki on HBO which took place on April 28. During the week, Wilder sent out an email to Joshua and his team claiming that Wilder has an offer that would guarantee Joshua $50 million, but no further details were mentioned in the letter, which can be read below.

“Dear Eddie,” the email read.

“With all due respect you know Al and I for a long time and you know this is not a Publicity stunt. I assure you that we’re serious and we would be glad to sit down with you and provide proper security for the funding and work out all the details.

“But it all has to start with Anthony Joshua accepting the $50 million offer that he asked for, which is also by far the largest guarantee and largest purse any heavyweight champion has ever made.

“Until then, it would be non-productive to meet.

Hearn then tried to call Wilder’s bluff, asking for the logistics of the deal, how Wilder and his team can get $50 million guaranteed when Wilder’s usual purse only fetch around 1-3 percent of that $50 million purse for Joshua.

But even with the high demand of a fight between the two world champions, there are still backup fights for each fighter. Deontay Wilder would have to fight Dominic Breazeale if the fight with Joshua isn’t made, due to Breazeale winning a title eliminator last year (although there are conflicting reports and statements from even within the WBC as to whether Breazeale is technically the mandatory challenger despite being the No. 2 WBC heavyweight and not No. 1).

For Joshua, there are two realistic options if Wilder is not his next fight: Jarrell Miller, who defeated Johann Duhaupas on April 28 on HBO, and mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin. Povetkin is technically the WBA and WBO mandatory challenger and holds both the WBA Intercontinental and WBO International heavyweight titles and retained both titles in the co-main event fight of Joshua vs. Parker.

Eddie Hearn’s father Barry, who runs Matchroom Sport, recently confirmed the three options currently available to Joshua, saying that it is Joshua who has the final word on who his next opponent will be.

“Anthony Joshua calls the shots. He has a choice. I think his preference is Alexander Povetkin for his mandatory, Jarrell Miller is in the top five, and Deontay Wilder. They’re his three main choices and I expect him to make his mind up in the next seven to 10 days. He’s a smart young man and the final decision is always made by him,” Barry Hearn said.

Barry Hearn further commented on whether or not Matchroom Boxing did in fact get a formal offer from Wilder and his team. The elder Hearn claimed no such offer was handed to them except the email and social media call out by Wilder.

“It’s very strange, because we’ve never had an offer from Wilder’s management, but we’ve had an offer from Wilder. He said he’d give us $50m, but I don’t think he’s got $50m. There was no contract,” Barry Hearn said.

While it should be noted that Wilder getting a $12.5 million purse for a Joshua fight is significantly higher than the total purse he had earned in his last five fights combined, it still the highest among Joshua’s opponents. When Joshua fought Parker earlier this year, Parker was guaranteed £13 million, which is more than $15 million.

Although negotiations have started off pretty poorly, there is still hope that the fight will indeed happen. Eddie Hearn spoke to Sky Sports and said this week produced positive conversations between both camps and gives it a 70 percent chance of the fight happening. As far as when the fight could take place if it does get made in 2017, it’s looking like it could take place between October and November. Locations are still being explored and although the U.K. is still the preferred place for Hearn and Joshua (Joshua said he doesn’t need to go to the United States to fight Wilder), the United States is still available if the right kind of fight deal is made.

Tony Bellew vs. David Haye 2 Preview

With the absence of Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin on Cinco De Mayo, the much-anticipated heavyweight grudge match between Tony Bellew and David Haye, a rematch from their 2017 bout in the United Kingdom.

While some may chalk this fight up as a last-gasp attempt at glory from two aging former champions, the fight has captivated many British boxing fans. The rivalry had been brewing since at least 2016, with the two fighters showing that there is legitimate bad blood between them.

The first fight between the two was a surprisingly good scrap, a throwback to classic heavyweight fights from years past. Bellew, the underdog in the first bout, actually defeated Haye late thanks in large part to an Achilles injury Haye suffered during the fight, raising legitimate questions as to whether or not Bellew got a clean win over Haye. A rematch seemed like it was a foregone conclusion.

Haye has been one of the heavyweight division’s more colorful characters, a salesman who can effectively turn heads towards his fights with the right kind of opponent. Haye has masterfully been building up the feud when he was on commentary for Bellew’s cruiserweight world title defense against BJ Flores.

The rematch was originally scheduled to take place towards the end of 2017, but Haye suffered another injury during training that would delay the fight for May 5, 2018. Much like the first fight, the buildup has been filled with tons of trash talk and physical confrontations that have served to further build up anticipation for what is surely the biggest All-British heavyweight boxing match not involving Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Tale of the Tape:

Tony Bellew

• Record: 29-2-1 (19 KO)
• Age: 35
• Height: 6’3″
• Reach: 74″
• Titles Won: Commonwealth light heavyweight, BBBoC light heavyweight, WBC Silver International light heavyweight, WBC Silver light heavyweight, WBO International cruiserweight, EBU cruiserweight, WBC world cruiserweight titles
• Notable Opponents: David Haye, BJ Flores, Nathan Cleverly, Isaac Chilemba, Adonis Stevenson

David Haye

• Record: 28-3 (26 KO)
• Age: 37
• Height: 6’3″
• Reach: 78″
• Titles Won: BBBoC English cruiserweight, EBU European cruiserweight, WBA “super” world cruiserweight, WBO cruiserweight, WBC cruiserweight, WBA world heavyweight, WBA Intercontinental titles, WBO International heavyweight titles
• Notable Opponents: Tony Bellew, Dereck Chisora, Wladimir Klitschko

Top 17 Quadruple Boxing Champions List

Throughout boxing’s history, the greatest boxers more often than not have been to achieve world title success in more than one division. Within boxing’s many divisions, multiple boxers have been to make an effortless transition in moving up or down in weights, but few have been able to win world titles in more than one division. Even fewer have been able to achieve a level of success where less than two dozen men have been able to win a major world title in four different weight classes.

But just like there is debate among fans as to who is the best boxer of all time, the Fightful Boxing Newsletter ranks the 17 quadruple champions in boxing history. This list takes into consideration a fighter’s resume, the quality of their first four world title wins and their overall impact on the sport.

The only rule for this list is that the only titles being considered as major are of the “Big 4” governing bodies (WBA, WBO, WBC, IBF) as well as the lineal and Ring Magazine titles. Titles from other governing bodies such as the IBO, WBF, WBU, GBU and others are typically not considered major world titles.

In any case, honorable mentions should be given out to those who are quadruple champions but not all of their world titles are major world titles.

1. Hector Camacho: Won the WBC super featherweight, WBC lightweight, WBA junior welterweight and IBC welterweight titles.
2. Lester Ellis: Won the IBF super featherweight, WBF welterweight, IBO junior welterweight and IBO lightweight titles.
3. James Toney: Won the IBC middleweight, IBC super middleweight. WBU light heavyweight and WBU cruiserweight titles.
4. Iran Barkley: Won the WBA middleweight, IBF super middleweight, WBA light heavyweight and WBB heavyweight titles.
5. Joey Gamache: Won the WBA super featherweight, WBA lightweight, WBU junior welterweight and WAA junior middleweight titles.
6. Mauricio Pastrana: Won the IBF light flyweight, interim WBA flyweight, IBO super flyweight and IBA bantamweight titles.

17. Adrien Broner

• First division world title: WBO super featherweight title (November 26, 2011)
• Second division world title: WBC lightweight title (November 17, 2012)
• Third division world title: WBA welterweight title (June 22, 2013)
• Fourth division world title: WBA junior welterweight title (October 3, 2015)

16. Mikey Garcia

• First division world title: WBO featherweight title (January 19, 2013)
• Second division world title: WBO super featherweight title (November 9, 2013)
• Third division world title: WBC lightweight title (January 28, 2017)
• Fourth division world title: IBF junior welterweight title (March 10, 2018)

15. Nonito Donaire

• First division world title: IBF flyweight title (July 7, 2007)
• Second division world title: WBC bantamweight title (February 19, 2011)
• Third division world title: WBO super bantamweight title (February 4, 2012)
• Fourth division world title: WBA featherweight title (May 31, 2014)

14. Leo Gamez

• First division world title: WBA minimumweight title (January 10, 1988)
• Second division world title: WBA light flyweight title (October 21, 1993)
• Third division world title: WBA flyweight title (March 13, 1999)
• Fourth division world title: WBA super flyweight title (October 9, 2000)

13. Roman Gonzalez

• First division world title: WBA minimumweight title (September 15, 2008)
• Second division world title: WBC light flyweight title (March 19, 2011)
• Third division world title: WBC, The Ring, Lineal flyweight titles (September 5, 2014)
• Fourth division world title: WBC super flyweight title (September 11, 2016)

12. Jorge Arce

• First division world title: WBO light flyweight title (December 5, 1998)
• Second division world title: WBO super flyweight title (January 30, 2010)
• Third division world title: WBO super bantamweight title (May 7, 2011)
• Fourth division world title: WBO bantamweight title (November 26, 2011)

11. Miguel Cotto

• First division world title: WBO junior welterweight title (September 11, 2004)
• Second division world title: WBA welterweight title (December 2, 2006)
• Third division world title: WBA junior middleweight title (June 5, 2010)
• Fourth division world title: WBC, The Ring, Lineal middleweight titles (June 7, 2014)

10. Juan Manuel Marquez

• First division world title: IBF featherweight title (February 1, 2003)
• Second division world title: WBC super featherweight title (March 17, 2007)
• Third division world title: The Ring, Lineal lightweight titles (September 13, 2008)
• Fourth division world title: WBO junior welterweight title (May 4, 2012)

9. Oscar De La Hoya

• First division world title: WBO super featherweight title (March 5, 1994)
• Second division world title: WBO lightweight title (February 18, 1995)
• Third division world title: WBC, Lineal junior welterweight titles (June 7, 1996)
• Fourth division world title: WBC, Lineal welterweight titles (April 12, 1997)

8. Erik Morales

• First division world title: WBC super bantamweight title (September 6, 1997)
• Second division world title: WBC featherweight title (February 17, 2001)
• Third division world title: WBC super featherweight title (February 28, 2004)
• Fourth division world title: WBC junior welterweight title (September 17, 2011)

7. Manny Pacquiao

• First division world title: WBC, Lineal flyweight titles (December 4, 1998)
• Second division world title: IBF super bantamweight title (June 23, 2001)
• Third division world title: The Ring, Lineal featherweight titles (November 15, 2003)
• Fourth division world title: WBC, The Ring, Lineal super featherweight titles (March 15, 2008)

6. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

• First division world title: WBC, Lineal super featherweight titles (October 3, 1998)
• Second division world title: WBC, The Ring, Lineal lightweight titles (April 20, 2002)
• Third division world title: WBC junior welterweight title (June 25, 2005)
• Fourth division world title: IBF welterweight title (April 8, 2006)

5. Pernell Whitaker

• First division world title: IBF lightweight title (February 18, 1989)
• Second division world title: IBF junior welterweight title (July 18, 1992)
• Third division world title: WBC, Lineal welterweight titles (March 6, 1993)
• Fourth division world title: WBA junior middleweight title (March 4, 1995)

4. Roy Jones Jr.

• First division world title: IBF middleweight title (May 22, 1993)
• Second division world title: IBF super middleweight title (October 21, 1993)
• Third division world title: WBC, The Ring, light heavyweight titles (February 2, 2002)
• Fourth division world title: WBA heavyweight title (March 1, 2003)

3. Thomas Hearns

• First division world title: WBA welterweight title (August 2, 1980)
• Second division world title: WBC, The Ring, Lineal junior middleweight titles (December 3, 1982)
• Third division world title: WBC light heavyweight title (March 7, 1987)
• Fourth division world title: WBC middleweight title (October 29, 1987)

2. Roberto Duran

• First division world title: WBA, The Ring, Lineal lightweight titles (June 26, 1972)
• Second division world title: WBC, The Ring, Lineal welterweight titles (June 20, 1980)
• Third division world title: WBA junior middleweight title (June 16, 1983)
• Fourth division world title: WBC middleweight title (February 24, 1989)

1. Sugar Ray Leonard

• First division world title: WBC, The Ring, Lineal welterweight titles (November 30, 1979)
• Second division world title: WBA, The Ring, Lineal junior middleweight titles (June 25, 1981)
• Third division world title: WBC, The Ring, Lineal middleweight titles (April 6, 1987)
• Fourth division world title: WBC super middleweight title* (November 7, 1988)

* Leonard also won the WBC light heavyweight title on that night, giving him world titles in two separate divisions at the same time